Prelim thoughts on car wanting to stall on acceleration?
#1
Instructor
Thread Starter
Prelim thoughts on car wanting to stall on acceleration?
Hi all
Today my car suddenly started wanting to stall out on acceleration from a dead stop and simultaneously the "Check Engine" light came on. I had to really sort of nurse the accelerator or depress it in the smallest of increments to get the car up to in-town traffic speeds. Also, once it is up to a given steady speed (say 50 mph) it seems fine, but further attempts to accelerate from there make the car again act as if its going to stall out.
Then, once it comes to a stop again it is idling perfectly, but the need for nursing/feathering the accelerator pedal to get the car up to speed starts again. I felt lucky to get it home!
I will have to take it for a scan by my mechanic next week, but curious if anyone had some prelim thoughts on what the like culprit is....
John
1991 928 S4 Auto
Today my car suddenly started wanting to stall out on acceleration from a dead stop and simultaneously the "Check Engine" light came on. I had to really sort of nurse the accelerator or depress it in the smallest of increments to get the car up to in-town traffic speeds. Also, once it is up to a given steady speed (say 50 mph) it seems fine, but further attempts to accelerate from there make the car again act as if its going to stall out.
Then, once it comes to a stop again it is idling perfectly, but the need for nursing/feathering the accelerator pedal to get the car up to speed starts again. I felt lucky to get it home!
I will have to take it for a scan by my mechanic next week, but curious if anyone had some prelim thoughts on what the like culprit is....
John
1991 928 S4 Auto
#3
Rennlist Member
Yep Figure out if it's in CAT protection mode as said (4 cyl mode),
Remove passenger kick panel on right side, expose the ECU's.
Look for a clear Relay at the bottom of ECU's, is there a Red or Green LED illuminated ?
If running on all 8, then how old is the MAF ?
Dave K
Remove passenger kick panel on right side, expose the ECU's.
Look for a clear Relay at the bottom of ECU's, is there a Red or Green LED illuminated ?
If running on all 8, then how old is the MAF ?
Dave K
#4
If that is the issue and if you have cats on your car do not drive it as you risk a cat fire.
#5
Instructor
Thread Starter
OK, So I just cranked up the car up, and while running with the relay panel and LH exposed (and it is pitch dark down there)- I see nothing illuminated that is Red, Green or otherwise.
One other bit of information- I had a brand new alternator installed on the car less than 50 miles ago- and it WAS running great.
Thoughts?
John
One other bit of information- I had a brand new alternator installed on the car less than 50 miles ago- and it WAS running great.
Thoughts?
John
#7
Team Owner
remove both of the coil wires , Do one at a time,
inspect for corrosion then reinstall and rout them away from touching anything on their run. then test the engine
NOTE do one wire at a time then run the engine to see if either one was the culprit,
if so it would be wise to buy two new coil wires and **** can the one that was bad and keep the other for a spare
inspect for corrosion then reinstall and rout them away from touching anything on their run. then test the engine
NOTE do one wire at a time then run the engine to see if either one was the culprit,
if so it would be wise to buy two new coil wires and **** can the one that was bad and keep the other for a spare
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#8
Rennlist Member
I had a problem just like this on my 86.5. Drove me insane and required a tow to go 5 miles to home.
Problem was one of the clamps on the intake tube rubbers was loose. At idle the tubes would be sealed well enough but when you hit the gas they would flex a bit and open a hole for air to come in and kill the engine.
Problem was one of the clamps on the intake tube rubbers was loose. At idle the tubes would be sealed well enough but when you hit the gas they would flex a bit and open a hole for air to come in and kill the engine.
#10
RL Community Team
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
This sounds like possibly a vacuum leak to me as well. Could also be a fuel delivery problem, like maybe the fuel accumulator, the fuel pump starting to go bad (the engine is starving for fuel under the heavier demand of more pedal but gets enough for light pedal use).
#11
I have had an issue like this when I had a fuel leak. Progressively got worse until i noticed fuel running onto the street. Not saying it's a leak but could be fuel.
Also when I had a bad battery I had some strange issues. Car wanting to stall and errors commingled up on the dash. When I parked up and finished shopping the battery was dead. So possibly something wrong with the new alternator.
Also when I had a bad battery I had some strange issues. Car wanting to stall and errors commingled up on the dash. When I parked up and finished shopping the battery was dead. So possibly something wrong with the new alternator.
#12
Rennlist Member
remove both of the coil wires , Do one at a time,
inspect for corrosion then reinstall and rout them away from touching anything on their run. then test the engine
NOTE do one wire at a time then run the engine to see if either one was the culprit,
if so it would be wise to buy two new coil wires and **** can the one that was bad and keep the other for a spare
inspect for corrosion then reinstall and rout them away from touching anything on their run. then test the engine
NOTE do one wire at a time then run the engine to see if either one was the culprit,
if so it would be wise to buy two new coil wires and **** can the one that was bad and keep the other for a spare
#13
Instructor
Thread Starter
Hi Steve
The coil/ignition wires are maybe 12-14 years old I would guess but the car has not had many miles put on it during this time and always garaged during this time. Nevertheless I recognize corrosion is still a possibility!
I am taking you guys word for it that they can be checked by moving the intake tubes out of the way to access better....but I had to give up on it last night- Wow- that's awfully tight in there! So the coil wires just pull straight down from the distributor top?
The coil/ignition wires are maybe 12-14 years old I would guess but the car has not had many miles put on it during this time and always garaged during this time. Nevertheless I recognize corrosion is still a possibility!
I am taking you guys word for it that they can be checked by moving the intake tubes out of the way to access better....but I had to give up on it last night- Wow- that's awfully tight in there! So the coil wires just pull straight down from the distributor top?
#14
Instructor
Thread Starter
The coil wires looked completely free of corrosion. I did note the attachment to the coil on the passenger side seemed to bent at a fairly severe angle (pic) but am doubting this is my issue....